Introduction

"In every second of every day, two Barbie dolls are sold somewhere in the world"(Arias
12).

Upon entering the sea of pink I felt as though I had fallen into a bottle of Pepto
Bismal when in fact I had only arrived at the Barbie aisle in Toys-R-Us. Before I had the
chance to overcome my initial surprise, an entirely different world unfolded in front of my
eyes. I was expecting a fairly large selection, but this was ridiculous...or amazing,
depending on your own personal feelings toward this 11 and 3/4-inch doll and the world
created around her. My own childhood was one that did not include Barbie; I was more
interested in climbing trees and riding bikes, but as I progressed down the aisle I realized I
must have really been missing out on a fundamental part of my youth. And this Barbie
wonderland was in Charlottesville! I can not even imagine what "Barbie on Madison" at
FAO Schwarz in New York or "The Barbie Hall of Fame" in Palo Alto, California are like,
although at that point I had no idea they even existed.

As I looked at everything from "Sponge-n-Print", "Make-up Pretty", and "Dr."
Barbies to one hundred-piece gift sets and fashion play cards to "Birthday Fun at
McDonald's" and Barbie's "Baywatch" Rescue Boat, I concluded that this was not an
ordinary plaything. This vinyl creation blows that Little Mermaid out of the water, and
she knows it; at thirty-six, she has become the "most popular woman for sale in all the
world"(Lord 300). Her parent, Mattel, calls it a Global Power Brand; I call her a timeless
creation who does a great deal more than smile and look pretty. Let me take you on a
journey through the world of Barbie, the ultimate Babe in Toyland.

She is known as everything from the ideal American notion of femininity to a
disgrace to all women and a bimbo. Despite criticism from feminists and other activists,
such as the Barbie Liberation Organization, Barbie has survived through three decades of
political, social, and cultural changes. In the toy industry, that is no small feat. Toys
normally have a relatively small life-span because of how quickly fads come and go, yet "in
a world shot through with uncertainty she [Barbie] is an island of stability...She is one
public figure who can be trusted never to lose the to lose the bloom of youth, never to
self-destruct in a barrage of ugly headlines and sordid disclosures" (Green 189). She is
able to change with the times; as young girl's tastes and fashions change, so do Barbie's.
Whatever is in the Pre-teen section of local department stores is likely to be on the Barbie
shelves in toy stores...or on the way. As such "her clothing is a perfect history of fashion
over the past thirty years"(Westenhouser 28). This suggests that there are larger social,
behavior, and value patterns at work.

Mattel's marketing and advertising techniques have centered on these cultural
patterns. Somewhere in the inner depths of Mattel, there is a team that studies and
ponders over spoken and unspoken current attitudes and convictions of the American
public, especially those of teenagers and parents of teenagers. They have followed current
fads and fashions and chosen only those that will help Barbie to remain on top of the
pedestal on which America has placed her. They have transformed controversial and
therefore potentially threatening issues into opportunities and kept Barbie as the adaptable
yet stable emblem of American teenagers. And with Barbie sales reaching the one billion
dollar mark, clearly Mattel has been successful in doing so.

Mattel adopts current fads in order to present Barbie as a role model. Mothers
buy Barbie in hopes of not only presenting entertainment, but positive reflections of
society and femininity. Barbie leads a balanced, albeit busy, life; her goals are socially
acceptable ones. She allows children to use their imaginations in an ultimate fantasy world
but also gives them realistic dreams for which they can aspire. Barbie has remained a
prominent figure because Mattel has "'correctly assessed what it means to a little girl to be
a grown-up'"(Rice qtd. in Morgenson 66). And this has all happened because a woman
wanted her daughter to have more to play with than paper doll.